I have not had the pleasure of reading the book, but I did see the movie last night and it was PHENOMENAL. Not only did it have an amazing cast, it also helped me understand why my grandparents worry about me so much.

This is the era my grandparents were raised in. Can I blame them for being so worrisome?

Hearing Mr. Haygood speak and following that with seeing the movie for myself, has given me a realty check. I’m an African-American woman who can vote, eat where I want, drink where I want, sit where I want, and say what I want all because of people like Cecil Gaines, and his son Louis, and Dr. King, and Malcolm X, and the Black Panthers, and all of those Freedom Riders who lost their lives for us.

Ultimately, we all owe our lives to these people – that includes our grandparents who were there and stood next these people. We owe it to them to continue the fight and to use our freedoms for good.

While even Mr. Haygood admitted that the movie did change some aspects of the book, still experiencing all of this at once has also made me realize that The Dream is in reach, we’re almost there, but we (our generation) still have some work to do.